N53 was released in 2007 in the facelifted BMW 5 Series (E60/E61) and the BMW 3 Series (E90/E91/E92/E93). It is an improvement on the N52 (NA) engine mainly since it has gasoline direct injection technology and can burn stratified.

I’m doing the conversion on 325i with N53 engine. Local BMW specialist will do it for me ( I’ll be in Canada next two months). When I return to Europe I will have to update the software. When it’s all done I will dyno the car and post the results.
When I bought the car I was deciding between 325i and 330i. The 330 was over $6,000 more than 325. The cars are identical except for the manifold, rear muffler and larger brakes on the 330. Since I was going to replace the muffler and brakes anyway I got the 325 and saved 6K for the mods. I already installed Remus Quad and BMW Performance brakes. Now is the time for upgrading to 330i with better braked and muffler.

Iím doing the conversion on 325i with N53 engine. Local BMW specialist will do it for me ( Iíll be in Canada next two months). When I return to Europe I will have to update the software. When itís all done I will dyno the car and post the results.
When I bought the car I was deciding between 325i and 330i. The 330 was over $6,000 more than 325. The cars are identical except for the manifold, rear muffler and larger brakes on the 330. Since I was going to replace the muffler and brakes anyway I got the 325 and saved 6K for the mods. I already installed Remus Quad and BMW Performance brakes. Now is the time for upgrading to 330i with better braked and muffler.

+1, the 330 is not worth it after this mod, 6k is not worth larger brakes, a manifold, a badge, and higher insurance rates, which is why im selling mine.

nice, with the N53 you should reach somewhere near 280hp which is very impressive.

You guys should be going for 335. 330i is still painfully slow compared to others.
Get a 335i and see what 6 grand can do. oh man.

335i wasnít ever option for me. 330i has 30hp less than 335i but itís over 100kg lighter than 335i. Besides the reliability of the N/A engine I favor the driving characteristic of N/A car over the turbocharged.

335i wasnít ever option for me. 330i has 30hp less than 335i but itís over 100kg lighter than 335i. Besides the reliability of the N/A engine I favor the driving characteristic of N/A car over the turbocharged.

emm I can see where you are coming from. I guess if straightline performance isn't your main concern, there is no reason for you to get 335s. Especially with all the damn problems.

Just to straighten out some facts, 335i is heavily underrated. 335i stock dynos nearly 60whp more than 330i. and that is WHP not at the flywheel. It is a beast. Im proud of our brother.

That would be great if I lived in Europe. But in the U.S. the wagon/touring only comes as a 328. This is looking like the best way to get my wife some more power. Between our two cars this is the biggest bang for the buck, especially if I tag on an aftermarket exhaust.

What she would really like would be the wagon owned by our SA at the dealer. He's swapped out the motor for an E46 M3 motor but I'm not willing/don't have the skill to go that far. This swap, OTOH, sounds very doable.